Obama: Sticking to "Promise of Clean Energy"

In his Jan. 24 State of the Union address, President Barack Obama reinstated his commitment to renewable energy. Despite the demise of solar manufacturer Solyndra looming over the past year of his term, Obama said that he “will not walk away from the promise of clean energy.” Obama called for a commitment by the Defense Department to purchase 1,000 MW of renewable energy. He also referenced the long-standing Interior Department commitment to permit 10,000 MW of renewable energy projects on public land this year. The President called again on Congress to pass a “clean energy standard” that would require electric utilities to glean 80 percent of their power from natural gas, nuclear and renewable sources by 2035, and a permanent extension of a federal production tax credit for wind power. With uncertainty over the future of the PTC, which is set to expire at the end of this ...